Aspirin is used widely as an analgesic, antipyretic, and antirheumatic agent. The major disadvantage of aspirin therapy is gastrointestinal irritation caused by direct contact of the solid aspirin crystals and the gastric mucosa which causes gastrointestinal bleeding. Buffered aspirin tablets have been developed to reduce gastrointestinal bleeding. However, these multilayer tablets have proven to be, at times, ineffective.